Mi-Young Song

The anti-obesity effect of Ephedra sinica through modulation of gut microbiota in obese Korean women.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Ephedra sinica (Ma Huang) has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 5000 years for treatment of various conditions, including modern-day obesity. Ephedra has been used as a supplement for weight loss and its effects have been reported. The current study investigated the influence of ephedra on the composition of gut microbiota, and its correlation with weight loss. MATERIALS AND METHODS Clinical data of subjects were measured at pre- and post-intake of ephedra (4g of water extract, roughly equivalent of 24g of crude herb), and analysis of the alteration of gut microbiota was performed simultaneously using 16S rRNA gene based pyrosequencing. RESULTS Body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage of subjects were reduced after intake (p<0.05). In correlation analysis, Subdoligranulum, Oscillibacter, and Akkermansia showed an association with changes of BW and BMI (p<0.05). However, the alteration of gut microbiota varied by indigenous microbiota of each subject, and the dissimilarity between microbiota of subjects at pre- and post-intake were different. CONCLUSIONS The influences of gut microbiota are unique according to indigenous microbiota and differences in individual sensitivity to ephedra. Alteration of gut microbiota by ephedra intake showed correlation with loss of BW and BMI.

Influence of Panax ginseng on obesity and gut microbiota in obese middle-aged Korean women

Background Gut microbiota is regarded as one of the major factors involved in the control of body weight. The antiobesity effects of ginseng and its main constituents have been demonstrated, but the effects on gut microbiota are still unknown. Methods To investigate the effect of ginseng on gut microbiota, 10 obese middle-aged Korean women took Panax ginseng extracts for 8 wk and assessment of body composition parameters, metabolic biomarkers, and gut microbiota composition was performed using 16S rRNA gene-based pyrosequencing at baseline and at 8 wk. Significant changes were observed in body weight and body mass index; however, slight changes were observed in gut microbiota. We divided the participants into two groups, the effective and the ineffective weight loss groups, depending on weight loss effect, in order to determine whether the antiobesity effect was influenced by the composition of gut microbiota, and the composition of gut microbiota was compared between the two groups. Results Prior to ginseng intake, significant differences of gut microbiota were observed between both at phyla and genera and the gut microbiota of the effective and ineffective weight loss groups was segregated on a principal coordinate analysis plot. Conclusion Results of this study indicate that ginseng exerted a weight loss effect and slight effects on gut microbiota in all participants. In addition, its antiobesity effects differed depending on the composition of gut microbiota prior to ginseng intake.

In vitro and in vivo protective effects of fermented preparations of dietary herbs against lipopolysaccharide insult

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is known to produce endotoxic shock by triggering systemic inflammatory responses. Here, we evaluated the protective effects of three fermented/re-fermented herbs, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Massa Medicata Fermentata, and Dolichoris Semen, in an LPS-mediated inflammatory insult, either individually in vitro using RAW264.7 cells or in combination in in vivo using rats. In general, each of the fermented herbs showed appreciable in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, although the degree of this activity varied with the herb used. Moreover, a mixture of fermented herbal extracts in combination with probiotics significantly attenuated the blood endotoxin and CRP levels, as well as the gut permeability, and significantly augmented the intestinal Lactobacillus spp. colonisation in LPS-treated rats. However, these effects were not observed following the administration of the corresponding mixture of unfermented herbal extracts. Thus, our results highlight the beneficial impacts of the use of fermented herb products with probiotics to combat LPS-mediated inflammatory insults.

Schisandra chinensis fruit modulates the gut microbiota composition in association with metabolic markers in obese women: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study

Schisandra chinensis fruit (SCF) is known to have beneficial effects on metabolic diseases, including obesity, and to affect gut microbiota in in vivo studies. However, in human research, there have been a few studies in terms of its clinical roles in lipid metabolism and modulation of gut microbiota. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 28 obese women with SCF or placebo was conducted for 12 weeks. Anthropometry and blood and fecal sampling were performed before and after treatment. Analysis of the gut microbiota in feces was performed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Although the values did not differ significantly between the 2 groups, the SCF group tended to show a greater decrease in waist circumference, fat mass, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase than the placebo group. Clustering of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprints for total bacteria before and after treatment indicated more separate clustering in SCF group than placebo. In correlation analysis, Bacteroides and Bacteroidetes (both increased by SCF) showed significant negative correlation with fat mass, aspartate aminotransferase, and/or alanine aminotransferase, respectively. Ruminococcus (decreased by SCF) showed negative correlation with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and fasting blood glucose. In conclusion, administration of SCF for 12 weeks resulted in modulation of the gut microbiota composition in Korean obese women, and significant correlations with some bacterial genera and metabolic parameters were noted. However, in general, SCF was not sufficient to induce significant changes in obesity-related parameters compared with placebo.

Evaluation of the in vitro and in vivo protective effects of unfermented and fermented Rhizoma coptidis formulations against lipopolysaccharide insult

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can produce endotoxic shock by triggering the systemic inflammatory response. Here, we evaluated the in vitro and in vivo protective effects of unfermented and fermented Rhizoma coptidis (RC and FRC, respectively) against LPS-insult. In general, RC suppressed the LPS-induced expression of key inflammatory mediators in RAW264.7 cells, in a dose-dependent manner. Notably, FRC at a 20 μg/ml dose in combination with the probiotic used for fermentation showed more potent in vitro anti-inflammatory activities than that exhibited by the corresponding dose of RC. Moreover, oral treatment with FRC in association with the probiotic, but not oral administration of RC, significantly attenuated blood endotoxin and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and gut permeability, and significantly augmented the intestinal population of Bifodobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. in LPS-treated animals. Our results demonstrate the beneficial impact of fermented RC in combination with the associated probiotic in combating LPS-insult both in vitro and in vivo.

Epimedium koreanum Nakai and its main constituent icariin suppress lipid accumulation during adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.

Obesity is associated with a number of metabolic abnormalities such as type 2 diabetes and has become a major health problem worldwide. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Epimedium koreanum Nakai (Herba Epimedii, HE) and its main constituent icariin on the adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. HE extract and icariin significantly reduced lipid accumulation and suppressed the expressions of PPARγ, C/EBPα, and SREBP-1c in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. They also inhibited fatty acid synthase (FAS), acyl-Co A synthase (ACS1), and perilipin. Moreover, HE extract and icariin markedly increased the phosphorylation of AMPK. These results indicated that HE extract and icariin can inhibit the adipocyte differentiation through downregulation of the adipogenic transcription factors, suggesting that HE containing icariin may be used as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment and prevention of obesity.